Amritsari papad facts for kids
Amritsari Papad, also known as papar, is a yummy, crispy snack from the city of Amritsar in Punjab, a state in northern India. It's a special type of papad that's famous all over India and even sent to other countries!
What is Amritsari Papad?
Papad is a thin, crispy flatbread or cracker. Amritsari papad is unique because of its special flavors. It's a popular snack and side dish.
Making Amritsari Papad
Amritsari papad is made from a special dough. This dough usually comes from urad daal flour. Urad daal is a type of bean. The dough is mixed with lots of tasty spices. These spices include salt, black pepper, heeng (which is also called asafoetida), cumin, coriander, and even pomegranate seeds. Sometimes, a little garlic is added too.
The amount of each spice can change. This means there are many different kinds of Amritsari papad, each with its own taste. The dough is rolled out very thin, like a wafer. Each piece is about the size of a small plate. After rolling, these thin discs are dried in the sun. This drying process turns them into raw papad.
Other types of flour can also be used. These might include flours from lentils, chickpeas, rice, tapioca, or potato. Once dried, raw papad can be stored for several months. You don't even need to put it in the fridge!
In the past, people rolled out papad by hand. This needed a lot of strength because the dough was very dry. In Hindi and Punjabi languages, there's even a saying, "papad belna." It means "rolling out papad," and it's used to describe any hard or difficult job. Today, machines often do the rolling.
Cooking and Serving
To eat papad, you need to cook it. It can be roasted in an oven or over an open flame. Because it's so thin and dry, it cooks very quickly. It takes less than a minute to be ready!
In Punjab, people usually eat papad with their meals. It's like a crunchy side dish. In other parts of India, it's also eaten as a starter or a snack. Sometimes, people add toppings to it. These toppings can be chopped onions, carrots, chutney, or other dips.
Papad is a food that doesn't have many calories. However, it does have a lot of sodium (salt).
